In a virtual environment, alias names are used to preserve privacy, and yet there is often a need to know the identity of the real person with whom one is talking or interacting in order to hold meetings and conduct business. The inverse is also true, where an on-line user does not want to disclose a real name and wishes for disparate target parties to know the user under disparate on-line alias names. In modern society, most on-line users have multiple on-line alias names, some of which may include real identity data. As an example, a user's business e-mail address may contain a real name, where the same user may have additional email addresses, on-line gaming aliases, virtual world aliases, and the like, which often do not include identity data. As the world of on-line communication grows smaller, most of these environments provide external communication mechanisms, such as chat, so that an alias in one environment can communicate with an alias in a disparate environment. A problem arises, however, when an Avatar/alias needs to communicate to another on-line user, but does not wish to be known by the current on-line alias. As an example, a user currently playing World of Warcraft® may be logged-on using the alias MegaMonster. If that user has a need or desire to communicate with a business associate, it is unlikely that they would want to send an email, establish a chat session, or otherwise make contact using the identity of MegaMonster. This invention solves this problem by providing a system and method to control and manage identity presentation in on-line environments.
A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact via avatars. This habitation usually is represented in the form of two or three-dimensional graphical representations of humanoids (or other graphical or text-based avatars). Some, but not all, virtual worlds allow for multiple users.
The world being computer-simulated typically appears similar to the real world, with real world rules such as gravity, topography, locomotion, real-time actions, and communication. Communication has, until recently, been in the form of text, but now real-time voice communication using VOIP is available. This type of virtual world is now most common in massively multi-player on-line games (Second Life®, Entropia Universe®, The Sims On-Line™, There™, particularly massively multiplayer on-line role-playing games such as EverQuest®, Ultima On-Line™, Lineage™, World of Warcraft®, or Guild Wars™. Second Life® and other on-line virtual environments present a tremendous new outlet for both structured and unstructured virtual collaboration, gaming and exploration, as well as real-life simulations in virtual spaces. These activities, along with yet to be disclosed new dimensions, in turn provide a wide open arena for creative and new marketing methods and mechanisms.
It should not be assumed that the utility of virtual worlds is limited to game playing, although that is certainly seen to be useful and valuable insofar as it has become a real economic reality with real dollars being exchanged. However, the usefulness of virtual worlds also includes the opportunity to run corporate conferences and seminars. It is also used to conduct virtual world classroom sessions. Governmental and instructional opportunities abound in the virtual world. Accordingly, it should be fully appreciated that the term “virtual” as applied to this technology does not in any way make it less real or less valuable than the “real” world. It is really an extension of current reality. Moreover, it is an extension that greatly facilitates human communication and interaction in a non-face-to-face fashion.